Allrecipes Excitement!

It is no secret in my house that one of my favorite websites is Allrecipes.com. So many wonderful recipes with comments and ratings by the users. And most of the recipes are from home cooks like me, so they are very doable and don't usually have exotic ingredients. They also have pictures of the recipes, most posted by users. I love seeing a picture of what I'm going to cook. I have submitted several of my own pictures and enjoy seeing them pop up next to a recipe here and there.

Each day the website has a contest with all the pictures submitted and the top four vote getters are featured the next day on the Allrecipes home page. Yesterday I was picture #3 - the cupcake cookie. That's my username - JOSEPHINE. So excited! I've tried many times to make it into the top four, but this is my first time. Hopefully it won't be my last!

Cookies!!!

I have been away from the blog for awhile now, and I'm trying to get my toes wet again with a new post, hopefully to be followed by more posts.

So my new found passion is cake and cookie decorating. I can't call it new, really. I have been making my kid's birthday cakes for many years now. And I have always aspired to make pretty cookies. But my husband reignited a passion when for an anniversary gift he signed me up for a Wilton cake decorating class. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, and have started searching out cake and cookie related sites and blogs. One of my new favorites is Bakerella. She has some amazing recipes and something called cake pops that I'm dying to try my hand at. (I'll post if I ever actually do!) While searching her blog, I discovered her pretty cookies and found out that she was inspired by a book called "Cookie Craft". I checked it out of the library and was hooked!

I made my first set of fancy cookies two days ago, and decorated them yesterday. I have to admit, for a first effort I'm pretty impressed. I used the sugar cookie recipe from the book but used my own cookie icing recipe that I had tried previously. I loved the results. I used an apple cookie cutter that I've had for quite some time but had never used, and my brand new cupcake cookie cutter I bought at Crate and Barrel last month.

Because I didn't want to make too many icing colors (I am a bit lazy) I frosted the leaf of the apple with white icing and covered it with green sugar. The stem was the same brown I used for the cupcake cups, and then I used red for the perfect apple. I think anybody who loves apples would love a plate of these yummy cookies!

The cupcake cookies reminded Brendan and I more of sundaes than cupcakes, but I love them anyways. I struck to a simple white frosting for each one (see note above about laziness) and made brown cupcake cups for each one. I did try various different sprinkles and designs so that there were several different kind of cupcakes on the plate. I topped most of the cookies with the a red cherry on top (made with the apple red frosting).

All in all I'm quite satisfied with my cookies. The best part is they taste great, too.

Easter Cakes

We celebrated Easter a week early with my family and this year my mom asked me to make some cake for the festivities. Now if you know my family, you will know that they are not cake people. (Not my husband and kids, but the family I grew up in, and funny enough, all the spouses of my brothers and sister, except mine of course!) They would rather eat pie, cheesecake, baklava, buckeyes, ice cream, dirt pudding, cookies, etc. over cake.

But my mom knows how much I like making cake and thought it might be a nice change for us. So, I searched for some easy and cute cake ideas for Easter. Being that I was traveling to Ohio and making everything there, I didn't want anything too elaborate. I found the bunny cake idea here, and the chick cupcake idea, here.

I made chocolate cake for the two bunnies. The white bunny was made from a round 9-inch pan, the brown bunny from a round 8-inch pan. They were supposed to look like a mommy and baby, but my mom pointed out that it looked more like a mom and teenager bunny.

I made vanilla buttercream for the bigger bunny, and chocolate buttercream for the littler bunny. The ears are just cut out from paper and of course the eyes and nose are jelly beans. The chick cupcakes were lemon cake with lemon buttercream frosting. Delicious!


I was very happy with how cute they were, and the eleven grandkids all thought they were adorable. That didn't stop them from devouring them, though!

Hope you have a great Easter!

A Month for One Birthday!

Zoe turned six this month, but it seemed like we were celebrating it one way or another every week this month! I know I baked three different treats for the events, and she made her own ice cream pie to celebrate with. But, it has been fun.


The first treat I baked were cookies called half and halfs. They are a half chocolate chip cookie, and half chocolate chocolate chip cookie, stuck together! I made these extra large and sent them in for her birthday treat for school. According to Zoe, they were a hit!



Because I was making so many cakes/ treats for her birthday parties, I suggested that Zoe make one of her famous ice cream pies for the family to eat on her actual birthday. She chose chocolate ice cream and sprinkled a variety of chocolate chips and sprinkles on top.



The first cake I made was for our family party. Usually, this is the only party my kids have each year. But Zoe has been asking for a "friend" party for quite some time, so we decided that she could have a friend party, too, this year. This cake was a two tier cake. The bottom tier was chocolate chocolate chip cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, the top tier was white almond sour cream cake with almond swiss meringue buttercream. I made the decorations out of marshmallow fondant. Zoe explained the colors and decorations that she wanted, and I came up with this cake.


The following weekend was her friend party. We had ten little girls running around our house having a great time for Zoe's first "friend" party. Zoe loved being the center of attention and also loved her big 6 cake that she requested I make for this party. I took two nine inch chocolate cakes, cut a hole in the middle of one and carved the other one to look like the top of a six. Then I frosted over the whole thing with vanilla buttercream frosting. Zoe requested orange frosting with polka dots, so that is what she got! I was very happy with how the cake turned out.

Overall, I think Zoe would say that her month of birthdays (and treats) was a good one!

Writing - 2nd Grade Style

My daughter's 2nd grade class had a writing party for the parents today. It was meant to show us all the growth the children had made in their writing skills since the beginning of the year. The kids' journals, several stories they wrote, and their spelling sentences notebooks were all out for us to peruse and comment on. There were snacks and beverages, too.

About half an hour into the party, the parents were asked to sit at their child's desk. The kids got out a pencil for their parents and a paper was handed out to each student. At the top of the paper was a writing prompt that our kids picked out specifically for us. Some were "What is your favorite color? And Why?" or "What is your favorite animal? And Why?" or even "What is your favorite Bible story." Emma's assignment for me was "The best joke is . . . " I immediately got nervous. Couldn't think of any jokes. Not one.

Then the students were asked to walk away from their parents to give them some room to write. I thought for a few moments and then the words began to flow. This is what I came up with (and later had to read to the entire class filled with parents and students!):

In my life I have heard many jokes that make me laugh. My kids try to tell me jokes all the time, just to see if they can make me giggle. And while I love all kinds of jokes, my favorite one came from a popsicle stick.

Every summer my kids devour boxes and boxes of popsicles. And every time they eat one, they (or I) read the joke out loud. The summer of 2004 we came across a simple joke that to this day still tickles my funny bone.

Here it is:
What did the girl melon say to the boy melon when he asked her to marry him?
We're too young. We cantaloupe.

I had forgotten how much fun it can be to write from a prompt. As an adult, I rarely take the time to explore some free expression through writing (other than this blog, of course). I think I would enjoy it again.

A Good Album

Are you looking for a good album that the whole family can enjoy? (Okay, I can't guarantee it for teenagers, but all other age ranges are included.)

On the way to school today with the van full of carpool kids, we listened to an old favorite of our's, "No" by They Might Be Giants. This has to be the best "kids" album out there.

It will not make the parents cringe when they hear the first strains of the first song, it will not make the big brother groan that he has to listen to little kid music, and it will not make the little sisters whine to put on different music.

It will make you want to hear as many songs as you can before you have to get out of the van and go to school, it will make your mom leave it playing, even after the kids go to school because the songs are so fun, and it will have every kid (and parent) singing along at the top of their lungs to every tune.

This is what happened this morning in our van. I was driving six kids to school, my three plus three others. About half way to our destination, Ian finds the "No" CD and puts it in. Two seconds later the whole van is singing Fibber Island. This is no small feat. My passengers are one sixth grade boy, two fifth grade boys, two second graders, a girl and a boy, and one kindergarten girl. Oh yeah, and me, the 37 year old chauffeur. By the time we were listening to John Lee Supertaster the three youngest kids were swaying and moving like backup singers and telling the older boys to, "Look at us!"

It was a great way to start the morning!

College Fun

When I was several years younger, I attended John Carroll University. I am a proud graduate and alumni of many years and have lots of fond memories of the old alma mater.

One of the fixtures on the campus is what many students referred to as the "big head." It is a statue of our school's namesake, Archbishop John Carroll.

This is what it normally looks like:


However, apparently several of the students took advantage of all the snow in Cleveland right now and had some fun with the statue before leaving on Spring Break. Archbishop John Carroll currently looks like this:


I love it!

Winter Fun

Since it seems we can't get away from the white fluffy stuff just yet, I thought I'd post some pictures of my family having fun in it. This is from a sledding trip a little earlier this winter.

This is my oldest walking up the hill with his sled.


This is my middle child. She was thrilled when I bought her pink snow pants last year (thank goodness they still fit!) instead of the usual black hand-me down snow pants from her brother that she usually has to wear.


This is my youngest. She got pretty tired walking up and down the hill all afternoon, but had a great time anyways!


Here's my youngest again with her dad. We only have one sled that multiple riders can go on, so Brendan and I went on a lot of rides with the kids.


Brendan caught this photo of all the kids and I trekking up the hill once again. By this time the toes in my right foot were a block of ice, and I decided that after one last run I was going back to the van for some hot chocolate!


And finally, some pictures of the parents, who probably enjoyed the day sledding as much as the kids. (Nothing like flying down a hill on a piece of molded plastic to make you feel like a kid again!)

Pig Cookies

I made these little piggy cookies yesterday for my daughter's second grade class. They spent almost a month reading Charlotte's Web and yesterday took the big test over the whole book. Today they are watching the movie and I thought these would be the perfect treat to eat during the show.

They are really easy to make and don't even need any cookie cutters! Take your favorite sugar cookie dough and roll it out. Cut into circles with a drinking glass. Use a small spice jar or extract lid to cut out the small circle for the snout. (I actually used the large side of a frosting decorating tip.) Cut out a small square out of the dough scraps. Cut in half into two triangles. Place at top of circle like two ears. Cut two slits into the snout with sharp knife. Sprinkle with pink sanding sugar and use two chocolate chips for eyes. Bake as directed. Simple, cute, and yummy!

Reading

Last night I was reading stories to my daughter, Zoe, before bedtime. She chose the first book, If You Give a Pig A Pancake, one of her current favorites. Weary of reading the same six books over and over again for months, I suggested that maybe I could pick the second book. she happily agreed and I came back with Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton. While I had probably read this book at least 100 times to Zoe's older brother when he was a little guy, I had never read it to her.

I began reading and she listened intently and studied the illustrations on each page. She felt bad for the steam shovels that were left "to rust and fall apart." She excitedly waited to see if Mike and Mary Anne could dig Popperville's cellar in just one day. She wondered how Mike could get out of the cellar as they built the town hall over him and Mary Anne. She proclaimed the book "Great!"

But the best part was when I read about Henry B. Swap. If you will recall, he was one of Popperville's selectmen who thought he could get part of the cellar dug for free by taking on Mike Mulligan's challenge that if he and Mary Anne could not dig the cellar in just one day, they would not get paid. When he thought about this, "he smiled in rather a mean way." When I read that sentence Zoe sat and thought for a few moments then looked up at me and said, "I don't have an evil smile because God doesn't want me to have one." So true, and wise beyond her years!

Turning 37

Back at the end of December I celebrated my 37th birthday. My morning started by taking my 10 year old son to 7:00 AM mass because he was an altar server. On the way home we stopped and got some birthday donuts to share with everyone.


We are not into grand celebrations, but Brendan took the day off from work and we spent the day together as a family. At some point Brendan made some excuse to leave and brought me back these gorgeous flowers. I let each of my three kids pick a board game and I played each one with them. I made something for dinner and we ate at home.


Lots of my friends and family asked if I made myself some fancy cake. The answer is: No. I made myself homemade cinnamon rolls. And not just any cinnamon rolls, but the most delicious and yummy cinnamon rolls I have ever made or probably eaten in my life. They were huge, soft, and gooey. I made a delicious cream cheese frosting that sent the rolls from great to FANTASTIC! And the best thing, the recipe made 17 rolls. So we had rolls the next morning and later the next day for a snack! We stuck a candle in one of the rolls and my kids and husband sang "Happy Birthday" to me.


After the rolls I opened my awesome gift. It is a heated mattress pad! If you have never had one, just imagine your cold, chilly bed preheated to a cozy warm temperature. Aaaah, I've enjoyed it everyday since!

Snow Time Again

Every year I write about making and eating snow ice cream with my kids. It is one of the winter rituals my kids look forward to every year. And with the amount of snow that is being predicted for our area coming in the next few days, I thought I would again post about snow ice cream.

The pictures here are from December 27, 2009. Our Christmas eve this year was white and the kids were able to sing "White Christmas" on the way to their Grandpa's house on that evening as we had gotten a few inches of snow the week before. Christmas day, however, was a different story. It rained much of the day and all the white snow lined yards turned to a mucky green.


On December 26, the rain turned back into snow and we got close to a foot of snow. My kids urged me to "put out the bowl" to collect the snow so that we could make our first batch of snow ice cream of the season. I made my husband do it (I didn't want to go out on the cold, snowy deck to place the bowl on the grill) and it sat there until December 27. After I unsuccessfully attempted to open the screen door which was hopelessly frozen shut, I put on my boots, my hat and scarf, my gloves and winter coat and went out the front door to trudge around to the back of the deck to collect the now full bowl of snow.


I brought the bowl inside and began making the snow ice cream. It's rather simple, really. Start pouring in half and half and stir the mixture occasionally. When it begins to resemble soft serve ice cream, add 1/2 cup of sugar and a little vanilla extract. Taste and decide whether it needs more sugar or not. If you run out of half and half, milk can be used to finish the mixture until the right texture is achieved. Eat immediately!


This particular batch used a full pint of half and half. After that ran out, I used some whole milk that was leftover from a fudge recipe. Being lactose intolerant, I declined to eat any ice cream (besides the little tastes to ensure good flavor). My kids, however, ate almost the whole bowl. It is a fun (and yummy) tradition!

Pumpkin Knot Rolls

Merry Christmas Eve! Here is the 12th and final Christmas recipe for this year. It is a yeast roll that is both beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. And if you have any picky eaters at home, you can feel good that they are getting a little bit of vegetables in their bread! You can't taste the pumpkin in these rolls, but the color is unmistakable.


Pumpkin Knot Rolls

▪ 2 pkgs. (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
▪ 1 cup warm milk, (110º to 115º)
▪ ⅓ cup butter, softened
▪ ½ cup sugar
▪ 1 cup canned pumpkin
▪ 3 eggs
▪ 1½ tsp salt
▪ 5½ - 6 cups all purpose flour
▪ 1 Tbsp. cold water
▪ sesame or poppy seeds, optional

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, sugar, pumpkin, 2 eggs, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each half into 12 balls. Roll each ball into a 10-inch rope; tie into a knot and tuck ends under. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat water and remaining egg. Brush over rolls. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake at 350ºF for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.


Notes: In the winter time my kitchen is cold (my whole house is cold) and so it takes longer for these rolls to rise. This is also an easy recipe to cut in half if you only want to make 12 rolls.

I have enjoyed sharing some of my family's favorite recipes again with you this year. Have a very Merry Christmas!

7-Layer Mexican Dip

My dip is actually only six layers because we don't like olives, but I'm going to give you the full recipe and you can decide for yourself if you want olives or not. This is a recipe that has been around for a long time. But it is such a good one, I still love making it for get togethers. I just made this Sunday for our group of Christmas carolers - we went out singing to neighbors and then came back to our house to enjoy snacks and friendly conversation. If your lucky, you'll find red and green tortilla chips for everyone to dig into this dip with like I did.

7-Layer Mexican Dip

▪ 1 package 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
▪ 1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
▪ 1 cup prepared guacamole
▪ 1 cup salsa
▪ 1 cup shredded lettuce
▪ 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
▪ ½ cup chopped green onions
▪ 2 tablespoons sliced pitted ripe olives

Mix cream cheese and seasoning mix. Spread on bottom of 9-inch pie plate.

Layer remaining ingredients over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate.

Garnish with cherry tomatoes, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.


Notes: This is an easy recipe to spice up with hot guacamole or salsa. Yum!

Only 1 more recipe until Christmas!

Bohemian Rye Sugar Cookies

This is another of Grandma Van's, my husband's grandmother's, recipes. Every year she would make up a great variety of cookies and then package them into boxes for each of her grandchildren at Christmas. When I was dating Brendan in college, I was introduced to the cookies before I ever met the lady behind them. These were always one of the varieties included in the box. Although they are rather plain looking, their flavor is delicious. They are a crisp cookie that has a distinctive orange taste to them. Grandma Van died a little more than a year ago, but her memory and fabulous recipes live on.


Bohemian Rye Sugar Cookies

▪ 1 cup butter, softened
▪ 1 cup sugar
▪ 2 tsp vanilla extract
▪ 1 cup light Rye flour
▪ 1 cup all purpose flour
▪ 1 tsp baking soda
▪ ½ tsp salt
▪ 1-2 T. grated orange rind
▪ sugar, for dipping

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla, blend well. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into creamed mixture. Add orange peel, mix well.

Form into 3/4 inch balls - place on ungreased (or parchment lined) cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with glass dipped in sugar. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until lightly browned on edges.


Notes: If you cannot find light rye flour, dark rye may be substituted, but the following changes should be made: dark rye flour should be only 3/4 cup, and all purpose flour increased to 1 1/4 cup. Be sure to store these in a tightly covered container so they keep their crisp texture. One last tip, be sure not to get the bitter white pith just under the peel of the orange - a microplane works wonderfully and quickly on getting the orange zest.

Cinnamon Apples

This is an easy but yummy way to make a meal more special. These apples are great as a side dish or on top of pancakes or waffles.



Cinnamon Apples

▪ ¼ cup butter
▪ 4 large tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
▪ 2 tsp cornstarch
▪ ½ cup cold water
▪ ½ cup brown sugar
▪ ½ tsp cinnamon

In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add apples. Cook, stirring constantly, until apples are almost tender, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Dissolve cornstarch in water; add to skillet. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and serve warm.


Notes: Even though this recipe calls for a tart apple, I usually use Golden Delicious. This makes plenty of syrup and is so good on pancakes!

Only three more recipes until Christmas!

Chocolate Peppermint Chip Cookies

I love the combination of chocolate and mint. Last year during December I posted two chocolate mint recipes, one for cake and one for bread. Now I give you this delicious combination in cookie form. Be careful, they are addicting!

Chocolate Peppermint Chip Cookies

▪ 1 cup butter, softened
▪ 1 ½ cups sugar
▪ 2 eggs
▪ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
▪ 2 cups all purpose flour
▪ ⅔ cup cocoa powder
▪ ¾ teaspoon baking soda
▪ ¼ teaspoon salt
▪ 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
▪ 1 cup Andes peppermint crunch baking chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and peppermint chips until evenly distributed. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased (or parchment lined) baking sheets.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or just until set. Cool for two minutes on cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.


Notes: The peppermint crunch chips look especially festive in these cookies because of their pretty red color. If you cannot find these (they seem to only come out at Christmas time, and even then can sometimes be hard to find) Nestle made a dark chocolate and green mint chip combination bag that I tried with good results as well. You can also make these with all chocolate chips for a really delicious chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe good anytime of year!

Pumpkin Scones

Another scone recipe? That is the question you may be asking yourself. First of all let me tell you I have become somewhat obsessed with scones. I think they get a bad rap, mainly because people are not eating good homemade scones, but dry, hard as rocks scones from the grocery store bakery. And this may not be my last scone recipe this year. I made a new recipe for one today, but haven't tried it yet. After they are baked and tasted, I'll let you know whether you might be seeing it later. But these pumpkin scones? These are yummy! I had to fool around with the original recipe a little, and the end result is a scone that is so good you'll want at least two to dip in your coffee or tea!

One more thing - if you end up loving making and eating scones as much as my family and I do, you can make a variety, freeze them before baking, then bake them all on one morning and have everyone's favorite!



Pumpkin Scones

▪ 2 cups flour
▪ ½ cup brown sugar
▪ ½ tsp ginger
▪ ¼ tsp cloves
▪ 1 tsp cinnamon
▪ 1 tsp baking powder
▪ ¼ tsp baking soda
▪ ¼ tsp salt
▪ ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen
▪ ½ cup cinnamon chips
▪ ⅓ cup buttermilk
▪ ½ cup pumpkin puree
▪ 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Grate butter into flour mixture using the large holes of a box grater. Use your fingers to work the butter into the flour (mixture should resemble coarse meal or crumbs). Stir in cinnamon chips.

In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla. Using a fork, stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press the dough will come together.)

On a lightly floured pastry cloth (or other lightly floured surface) gently pat dough into a circle about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife cut into eight equal sized wedges. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with egg wash (one egg yolk mixed with 1 T. half and half or cream) and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes and lightly browned or a toothpick comes out clean.


Notes: Cinnamon chips are very hard to find. Hershey's makes them and I think they may only come out at holiday baking time. If you can't find any, don't worry. You can make these scones without them, or substitute white chocolate chips, chocolate chips, or pecans for the cinnamon chips. As with any scones, do not overwork the dough. The dough should look somewhat ragged edged and there should be small butter clumps visible throughout.

A make ahead tip: After cutting into wedges and placing on parchment lined cookie sheet, freeze until hard, about one hour. Then transfer to a plastic bag for up to 3 weeks. When ready to bake, remove from freezer, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and bake as directed in recipe, but check after 20 minutes. DO NOT THAW!

My Coffee Is Coming!

My side of the family had a very early Christmas this year. We celebrated the first weekend in December and had tons of fun. We also exchanged gifts and my parents got me something I've been wanting for a long time, but being the practical person I am, would not get for myself until my Senseo coffee maker completely stopped working.

They got me a B30 Keurig personal coffee brewer! I have been looking at these for a few years now, and recently thought I might really want one due to the variety of coffee available for it. I especially want to get the "my K cup" so I can use any ground coffee, not just the k cups they sell. Not only will it be more economical, but I will have so many more choices than I had with my Senseo.

The Keurig came with 10 sample k-cups, all different. I have enjoyed some, some are too strong, and I still have a few yet to try.

But tomorrow, my order of k-cups from Keurig should be arriving on my doorstep, and I can't wait! I ordered two flavored coffees, two regular coffees, and a sample of five different flavored coffees. Of all the kinds I ordered, I've only tried one, the Green Mountain Nantucket Blend. The other ones are Green Mountain Spicy Eggnog Coffee, Chocolate Glazed Donut Coffee, and Tully's House Blend Coffee. Now that a definite chill has settled over Illinois, I'll be ready with lots of delicious, steaming hot coffee!

Peanut Butter Temptations

I know, another peanut butter and chocolate recipe. What can I say? I love pb and chocolate together! These little gems are so yummy. And they are fun, too! I often get questions on how I make these, along with requests for the recipe. They are actually quite easy.


Peanut Butter Temptations

▪ ½ cup butter
▪ ½ cup creamy peanut butter
▪ ½ cup brown sugar
▪ ½ cup sugar
▪ 1 egg
▪ ½ teaspoon vanilla
▪ 1½ cups flour
▪ ¾ teaspoon baking soda
▪ ½ teaspoon salt
▪ 1 bag (14 oz.) Reese's miniature peanut butter cups

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix together flour, soda, and salt and blend into creamed mixture. Shape into 1 inch balls and place in ungreased mini-muffin pans. Bake at 375ºF for 8-10 minutes until light brown. Remove from oven and immediately press one unwrapped peanut butter cup into each cookie. Cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove from pan and let cool completely.


Notes: It is always a good idea to have the peanut butter cups unwrapped before the cookies come out of the oven. That way all you have to do is press the peanut butter cups into the cookie as soon as you remove them from the oven. Yum!